According to Harvard and MIT researchers, we are slowly closing in on diseases such as Alzheimer’s with some cutting edge research on the SIRT1 gene, which is activated by the naturally occurring compound, resveratrol. Using resveratrol extracted from red wine, researchers have shown that it extends life-span, and now they are finding evidence of its neuroprotective abilities in mice. The mice that received resveratrol also showed a reduced death rate and a measured increase in neuronal restoration.

If the research by to Harvard and MIT teams have anything to go by, then the implications that resveratrol has on neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease are potentially huge.

However there is still some challenges regarding the effects of resveratrol on the brain and that is its ability to cross the blood-brain barrier. The mice in this study actually had resveratrol injected directly into their brain. Although this is still a hurdle to overcome by researchers, it still wont diminish the other positive effects that resveratrol has been seen to have in the labratory.

Related posts:

1. 7 Reasons Why You Should Be Taking Resveratrol Supplements
2. Current Research In Resveratrol
3. Resveratrol And The French Paradox

Below is a snap shot of some of the new, frontline research being conducted on the potential health effects of resveratrol.

• Researchers from the Department of Genetics at Ewha Women’s University in Seoul, Korea released a recent paper on the effect of resveratrol on human neurotypic cells in which dopamine induced cytotoxicity. Dopamine occurs naturally in the brain and acts as an oxidant, causing degeneration of particular neurons. Cells which were pretreated by resveratrol before being treated with dopamine reduced the dopamine-induced toxicity compared to samples not pretreated by resveratrol. The researchers concluded that dopamine was indeed a potential oxidant of neurological cells and that resveratrol may protect these cells against this cytotoxicity. They continued on by stating that resveratrol may be of “biological importance in the prevention of a dopaminergic neurodegenerative disorder such as Parkinson disease.”

• Researchers from the Institute of Neurosurgery in China reviewed the protective effect resveratrol has on cerebral ischemic stroke and the possible mechanism for its effect. They hypothesized that resveratrol supplements, after cerebral ischemia, might be beneficial for brain regeneration.

• Researchers from the Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil studied the positive effects of resveratrol on acute hydrogen peroxide induced oxidative stress in astrocyte brain cells. The researchers’ results showed that resveratrol did indeed counteract the oxidative damage caused by the hydrogen peroxide; resveratrol has antioxidant properties that prevent oxidative stress. In addition, resveratrol also provides help in important brain functions that contributes to the recovery of the brain after injury.

• A recent study conducted by researchers of the Institute of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, China investigated the inhibitory effect of resveratrol on ovarian carcinoma. The study’s results indicated that although resveratrol showed no cytotoxicity on the cancer cells, resveratrol did significantly inhibit migration and adhesion of the cancer cells in vitro. The researchers concluded that resveratrol supplements might potentially inhibit tumor metastasis.

• Researchers from several United State universities including Harvard and MIT reported in the online edition of the Embo Journal the effects thatresveratrol had on the promotion of neuronal survival in mouse models. Resveratrol acts as an activating molecule for the SIRT1 gene. They showed that SIRT1 did indeed promote neuronal survival and is an important link between ageing and certain human neurodegenerative disorders. Furthermore they believe that resveratrol and the SIRT1 gene may provide a valuable avenue for medicinal intervention.

Related posts:

1. Resveratrol Study Showcased In Annual Bibliography of Significant Advances in Dietary Supplement Research
2. Harvard and MIT Researchers Show Neurprotective Abilities Of Resveratrol
3. 7 Reasons Why You Should Be Taking Resveratrol Supplements